{"id":230410,"date":"2022-12-20T19:58:18","date_gmt":"2022-12-20T14:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=230410"},"modified":"2022-12-31T17:32:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-31T12:02:26","slug":"remembrance-week-marking-persecution-of-sri-lankan-muslims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembrance-week-marking-persecution-of-sri-lankan-muslims\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembrance Week Marking Persecution Of Sri Lankan Muslims\u00a0 \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Latheef Farook<\/a> –<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Latheef Farook<\/p><\/div>\n

A group of Sri Lankan Muslim expatriates in the West, comprising mainly\u00a0professionals and intellectuals, observed \u201cRemembrance Week\u201d – between 8 and 14 of December 2022- marking the\u00a0violence against Sri Lankan Muslims.\u00a0This campaign which continued uninterrupted until the people\u2019s uprising caused by\u00a0economic bankruptcy and political instability and the realization by the Sinhalese that the hate campaign against the Muslims campaign had been\u00a0 used as a political tool by Rajapaksa brothers to return to power.<\/p>\n

As part of this remembrance week\u00a0Al Bayan TV which is based in Leicester in the UK organized a webinar highlighting the atrocities committed and the destruction of Muslim residential, commercial and industrial projects besides killing innocent Muslims.<\/p>\n

Participants included\u00a0Professor\u00a0 Aiyoob Azmin from Canada, Professor Imtiyaz Razak from Delware Valley University,USA, Prof Hyder Ali from France, and Ayub Khan from Canada and me – from Sri Lanka. The webinar held on Sunday December 8 was conducted by Shaikh Ismail Munaf, Managing Director of Al\u00a0 Bayan TV.<\/p>\n

While highlighting details of the atrocities, the participants emphasized the need to prevent such hate\u00a0campaigns which demonized Muslims and divided the Sinhalese and Muslims communities.<\/p>\n

While insisting on the need to restore Muslim rights \u00a0participants emphasized the need for measures to undo damage caused so far. They also insisted on the need for measures to re establish better ties and harmony between the two communities – Sinhalese and Muslims<\/p>\n

Webinars and other such measures are needed in view of the presence of global anti Muslims forces in Sri Lanka such as United States, Europe, Israel and Hindutva government of India\u00a0with\u00a0their\u00a0agendas against Muslims-which result in\u00a0pitting communities against\u00a0each other.<\/p>\n

This well planned and executed hate\u00a0 campaign against the Muslims\u00a0 commenced soon after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, LTTE, in May 2009. It continued until the people\u2019s uprising which overthrew President Gotabya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who were accused of carrying out this campaign for political purposes.<\/p>\n

While Sri Lankan Muslims living abroad remain conscious about the plight of Muslims here in the island the Muslim community remain clueless and indifferent to conspiracies against them.<\/p>\n

This is the reason why no such program was organized by Muslims in the island. Muslim political parties, with a reputation for going after position and perks dismissing the rights of the community and the country miserably failed to organize any such\u00a0 <\/span>event reminding the country of violence and injustice to Muslims.<\/p>\n

So is the case with the religious body All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulema, ACJU, which failed to use even the Friday Juma sermons to enlighten Muslims of the atrocities \u00a0and warn them of the need to be vigilant to avert such a tragedy in future.<\/p>\n

Every street corner there are asociatio0ns and societies. Even they failed to issue statements to remind the nation of the atrocities\u00a0against Muslims. Civil society too, remain, by and large, inactive.<\/p>\n

Instead some\u00a0Muslims honoured\u00a0these very same politicians who were\u00a0proved to be the architects of the persecution against Muslims\u00a0by inviting them for their weddings. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the sad state of affairs of\u00a0the Muslim community which remains clueless to conspiracies as hostile elements remain active.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it time for Muslim politicians, ulemas, civil society, professionals, educated women and all others\u00a0to wake up and join hands with enlightened elements in the Sinhalese community fighting for restoration of democracy and national rights to work towards common benefit of the country?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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